Christology - Lecture notes 1-2 PDF

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Notes on Christology...

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CHRISTOLOGY Every name is a symbol. More than being a title by which someone is recognized, a name is a representation of its bearer. To praise a name is to praise the person who bears it. We even go to the extent of equating name with reputation or honor. To preserve one’s honor is to preserve one’s good name. When our Lord became man, he needed to be called by a name: YESHUA The name given to Our Lord was “YESHUA”. This was a late version of the Hebrew name Joshua or Yehoshua. “She is to have a son and you are to name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:11 The name Yeshua means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is Salvation”. This name was common during our Lord’s time, but when it became definite that Christianity was a separate religion from Judaism, the Jews stopped calling their children with this name. While on earth, our Lord have been known as: - JESUS OF NAZARETH = (Jn.18:5) - JESUS THE CARPENTER = (Mk.6:3) - JESUS BAR/BEN JOSEPH; JESUS SON OF MARY = (Luke 4:22; Mk.6:3) TITLES OF JESUS a) CHRIST The Greek word “Christos” means “messiah” (Hb. “masiah”) or “anointed one”. This title was given to Jesus by the early Church as a profession of what they believed about him – He was the one whom God has anointed to bring peace and justice to the world by establishing Kingdom of God. b) SUFFERING SERVANT The description of the Suffering Servant is found in the Book of Isaiah. The Suffering Servant is the innocent victim whose unconditional obedience pleased God and whose suffering became the source of healing for wounded humanity.

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The early church, after witnessing Christ’s brutal execution and his glorious resurrection from the dead, realized that the suffering servant and the messianic king that they were expecting were one and the same person. c) LORD The Jews believed that the name of God was too holy to be pronounced by the human tongue. In their scriptures, they read God’s name (YHWH) as “Adonai” – Lord. Therefore, in the religious context, the title Lord belongs to God. Calling Jesus “Lord” is an affirmation of his Divinity. d) SON OF MAN Looking into Daniel’s prophecy about the coming of the Son of Man (Dan 7:13-14), the Son of Man is the person who will establish God’s kingdom at the end of time. Jesus is called by this title to emphasize his role as savior and ruler of the world. e) SON OF GOD In the Old Testament, the title “son of God” was used to designate the king or the angels. Jesus, however, is THE SON OF GOD. He is the unique Son of the Father for he partakes of the Father’s Divine nature. f) WORD OF GOD A word is a representation of one’s thoughts and of one’s self. When a word is spoken, the one who speaks gives himself to the listener. God communicates to us through words. For example, creation is a word of God. We learn about God by looking into the Created world. Jesus is THE WORD. He is the totality of God’s self-communication. WORD OF GOD = REVELATION JESUS IS THE FULLNESS OF GOD’S REVELATION g) SON OF DAVID The Messianic King, whose coming was awaited by the Jews, must be from the Davidic line. Jesus Christ was from the tribe of Judah, the tribe of King David. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, King David’s hometown. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus was a descendant of David. Jesus was called “Son of David” as an affirmation that he indeed was the awaited Messiah.

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h) ETERNAL HIGH PRIEST The priest is the person who offers the sacrificial sin-offering on behalf of God’s people. Jesus Christ, by offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins, once and for all reconciled humanity with God. As priest, Christ is THE MEDIATOR between God and humanity. i) LAMB OF GOD A lamb is a sacrificial animal. Jesus is THE LAMB OF GOD because like a lamb, Christ was “slaughtered” for the forgiveness of sins. His blood washed away the sins of the world. SYMBOLS OF JESUS a) ALPHA and OMEGA These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Jesus is the beginning and the end of human history in whom we can find the meaning of everything. b) FISH The Greek word for fish (IXΘY∑) served as an anagram for a primitive Christian Creed. I – Iesous X- Christos Θ-Theou Y- Uios ∑-Soter c) CHI RHO This symbol is the monogram of the name CHRIST The Chi and the Rho are the first two letters of the Greek name for Christ: d) IHS This symbol is a monogram of the name JESUS. • It is from the first two letters and the last letter of the Greek name of Jesus : IHSOYS • It is from the letters of the Latin name for Jesus: IHESUS e) THE CROSS

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The first Christians were not comfortable with representing Christ with a cross. This was because crucifixion was still being practiced as a method of capital punishment in the Roman Empire. The cross was a symbol of shame. Some of the early Christians represented the cross with an anchor. When Emperor Constantine won the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, he attributed his victory to the Sign of the Cross. As he permitted Christianity to surface and flourish, the cross consequently became a sign of Christ’s victory rather than of shame.

When Christianity was finally allowed to surface in the Roman Empire, doctrinal debates began to arise. As a result, the church had been plagued by Christological heresies or false teachings regarding the person and nature of Jesus. In her commitment to preserve unadulterated the teachings of the apostles, the church convoked ecumenical councils. These were gatherings of bishops from all over the world, through which the church once and for all defined the true doctrines handed down by the apostles. CONTROVERSIES ON THE PERSON AND NATURE OF JESUS a) DOCETISM - The Greek work “dokei” means “seemed”. - Docetism is the heresy which teaches that Christ was Divine who appeared to be human. He did not have a real human body. What people saw of Christ was a phantom, an illusion. b) MODALISM Attributed to Sabellius, this heresy is the belief that the Father and the Son are one and the same person. “Father” and “Son” are just names by which this single person revealed himself. c) ARIANISM The principal heresy denying the divinity of Christ, named after its author Arius. Arianism maintained that the Son of God was not eternal but was created by the Father from nothing as an instrument for the creation of the world; the Son was therefore not coeternal with the Father, nor of the same substance. d) APOLLINARISM

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Apollinarius spread the belief that Christ had a human body but not a human soul. The “Word” (The Spirit of God the Son) replaced the human spirit. Apollinarius argued that if Christ had a human soul then he might have sinned. e) NESTORIANISM Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, questioned the Divine Motherhood of Mary with the argument that in Christ are two persons: a human person and a divine person. Mary is mother only of the human Jesus. Nestorius believed that God the Son simply used the human body as an instrument. Jesus is “God-bearing man” rather than “God-Man” f) EUTYCHIANISM OR MONOPHYSITISM Eutyches, an Abbot in Constantinople, preached the belief that Christ had only one nature: Divine. Jesus is not man. “ Physitos” is Greek for “nature”. Hence, Monophysitism because Christ had only one nature This, was because the human nature was absorbed by the Divinity of God the Son. THE TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH COUNCILS a) COUNCIL OF NICEA 325 Arian controversy: The Arians believed that the father and the son are different and that the Son, though he may be the most perfect of creations, was only a creation. Position of the Council of Nicea (as stated in the Nicene Creed): The Son was “begotten, not made” and therefore had no beginning. Jesus is “of the same substance as the Father” and therefore is of Divine nature. During the Council of Nicaea, St. Athanasius defended the Divinity of Christ by arguing that: If the Son were a creature, then he would just be like humans, unable to save humanity from sin. Christians worshipped Jesus. If Jesus were not God, then the Christians since the Apostolic times have been practicing idolatry. JESUS IS GOD b) COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE 381 The Council of Constantinople, which Fathers were Sts. Cyril of Jerusalem and Gregory Nazianzen, professed that: Christ is of the same substance with humanity, possessing a human soul.

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What is not assumed is not redeemed. To redeem humanity fully, Christ must be fully human. JESUS IS MAN c) COUNCIL OF EPHESUS 431 The Council of Ephesus presided over by St. Cyril of Alexandria, declared that: Christ is one person with two natures: Human and Divine – HYPOSTATIC UNION The distinctness of the natures was not destroyed by the union, thus Christ was fully human and fully divine. JESUS IS ONE THEOTOKOS - MOTHER OF GOD During the Council of Ephesus, St. Cyril of Alexandria defended the Divine Motherhood of Mary by arguing that: Since Christ is only one person, what was born of Mary was both human and divine. Mary is the Mother of God because by virtue of the Hypostatic Union, what can be said about the Humanity of Jesus can be said about his Divinity. d) COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON 451 The Council of Chalcedon, under the leadership of Pope St. Leo the Great, taught that: Christ was complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly divine and truly human, consisting of a rational soul and body. The distinction of the human and divine nature is not annulled by their union in the one person of Christ. The Son of God/Eternal Word, without losing divine nature, assumed human nature. Jesus is truly God and truly human. Jesus has two natures (divine & human), not mixed but united in one divine person As truly human, Jesus has human intellect and will perfectly attuned to his divine intellect and will. Incarnation = union of the divine and human natures in the one person of the Word –HYPOSTATIC UNION

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7 JESUS THE GOOD NEWS

The word “Gospel” usually refers to the written record of Christ’s words and deeds. Etymology:

Anglo-Saxon: “god” (good) “spell” (to tell) Greek : “Evaggelion” (glad tidings)

The GOSPEL is the Good News of Salvation proclaimed by Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ himself is the GOOD NEWS. Jesus is THE GOSPEL. GOSPEL = THERE IS ONLY ONE GOSPEL: JESUS CHRIST HE IS GOD’S TOTAL MANIFESTATION OF HIMSELF. HE IS THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD. GOSPELS THE GOSPELS ARE THE WRITTEN FAITH ACCOUNTS OF THE EARLY CHURCH. • Direct experiences by the followers of the historical Jesus • Eyewitness testimonies that were heard and recorded • Collections of oral preaching • First Christians’ experiences of the Risen Lord. THE GOSPELS ARE NOT BIOGRAPHIES OF CHRIST. THE GOSPELS ARE FAITH SUMMARIES DESCRIBING WHAT THE EARLY CHRISTIANS BELIEVED ABOUT JESUS. The human authors of the Gospels are called EVANGELISTS. 1) GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK - LION EVANGELIST: JOHN MARK- believed to be the chronicler of Peter DATE OF COMPOSITION: After Peter’s death, probably around 65 A.D. INTENDED AUDIENCE: Persecuted Christians THEMES: Jesus is the Christ Jesus is the Suffering Servant The Messiah and the Suffering Servant are one and the same. 2) THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW - MAN EVANGELIST: Author is unknown. Probably Matthew was used as a source. The original text was a collection of sayings compiled in Aramaic by the Apostle Matthew.

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DATE OF COMPOSITION: The original Matthew was written around 50AD but was lost. The existing text is the Greek translation written sometime 85 A.D. after the fall of Jerusalem. INTENDED AUDIENCE: Jewish converts to Christianity THEMES: Jesus is the New Law-Giver Jesus is the Messianic king promised to the Jews. 3) THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE - OX EVANGELIST: Luke, the “beloved physician”; the secretary of Paul DATE OF COMPOSITION: c.75 A.D. INTENDED AUDIENCE: Gentile converts to Christianity THEMES: Jesus is for Jews and Gentiles alike. Jesus is the compassionate savior who identifies himself with the poor and the outcast. SYNOPTIC GOSPELS The Gospels According to Mark, Matthew, and Luke are called SYNOPTIC GOSPELS because they follow more or less the same story line. 4) THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN - EAGLE EVANGELIST: Most probably the JOHANNINE COMMUNITY DATE OF COMPOSITION: c.90-100 A.D. INTENDED AUDIENCE: The Christian Churches in the Roman Empire; Christians who were already familiar with the Synoptics THEMES: Jesus is Divine Jesus is the center of all religious beliefs and practices Jesus is superior to all the prophets...